Gen Z employees may have a dubious reputation in the workplace, but new research shows employers are working hard to attract and retain this demographic.

The State of Global Hiring Report from HR tech provider Deel shows organizations around the world are stepped up their efforts to court employees up to 28-years-old in comparison to older colleagues.

According to the report, Gen Z saw the fastest salary growth (9%) and had the lowest percentage of contracts ended by involuntary termination (36%) in 2024 of any generation measured.

By comparison, Millennials saw 7% wage growth, followed by 5% among Gen X and Baby Boomers.

Meanwhile, Baby Boomers had the highest percentage of contracts ended involuntarily (55%), followed by Gen X (49%) and Millennials (43%).

Speaking exclusively to UNLEASH about the report’s findings, Matt Monette, UK&I Country Lead at Deel, says the research shows that employers are “enthusiastic about Gen Z, even if headlines say otherwise”.

Money isn’t the only motivator for Gen Z workers

Deel’s report highlighted that Gen Z employees offer “digital-native skills, a focus on purpose over pay, and a demand for career personalization and development to the workplace”.

These traits can be an enabler of higher rates of distributed work – with employees/teams based in more than one location – the report continues, but it also shows employers were focused on hiring close to home.

Last year, 82% of workers on the Deel platform were distributed, but employers in the US, UK, Canada, Germany and Australia all focused more on hiring domestically rather than overseas.

While Deel stated that cross-border hiring and global work isn’t going anywhere soon, the report also shows a greater desire for employees to be working within similar time zones and for more cohesion among teams.

Monette tells UNLEASH that despite the salary increases, Gen Z employees have concerns over toxic workplaces and that HR leaders must address this in order to keep younger workers happy.

“If they can’t get to the root of the worry, businesses risk Gen Z talent crossing the pond to work remotely for companies with a better company culture,” he says.

HR leaders need to understand it’s not all about salary for Gen Z workers, they must focus on creating inclusive work environments that award hard work beyond wages, fostering a positive environment.”